Hatch cover for railway cars



June 22, 1965 J. CARNEY. JR.. EIAL HATCH COVER FOR RAILWAY CARS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1963 w. a l4 VIM/E g FIG.7.

INVENTORS. JOHN L. CARNEY JR.

BERNARD ATRdMPETER AGENT June 22 1965 NEY, JR; ErIAL 3,190,238

A HATCH COVER FOR RAILWAY CARS QN NM u 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' United States.Patent 3,190,238 HATCH COVER FOR RAILWAY CARS John L. Carney, Jr., St.Louis, and Bernard A. Trompeter,

OFallon, Mo., assignors to ACE Industries Incorporated, New York, N.Y.,a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 19, 1963, Set. No. 289,005 12Claims. (Cl. 105-377).

This invention relates to hatch covers for openings in the roofs ofrailway cars and particularly to such hatch covers which are movedtoward and away from elongate hatch openings in a direction generallytransversely of the car.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted theprovision of a hatch cover and associated hatch opening which willpermitthe loading of a railway car in a continuous uninterruptedoperation without the shut-off or stopping of the loading means untilthe car-is filled or loaded; the provision of such a hatch cover andassociated hatch opening in which the hatch opening may be easilyuncovered and the car filled in a mannerto utilize the maximum amountofspace within the car and to minimize pyramiding of the loadedmaterial; the provision of such a hatch cover which maybe movedtransversely of the car between open and closed positions with a minimumof force being applied to the hatch cover; and the provision of such ahatch cover and associated opening which is simple in operation andeconomical in construction.

In general, the above objects are accomplished by an elongate hatchcover positioned over an elongate hatch opening in the roof of a railwaycar and mounted in guideways extending generally transversely of the carfor movement between open and closed positions relative to the hatchopening. More specifically, anti-friction means secured to the hatchcover move back and forth in the guideways when the hatch cover isopened and closed, thereby to permit such opening and closing with aminimum of eflort. Other objects of this invention may be inpartapparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafterdescribed, the scope of the invention being indicated in the followingclaims.

In the accompanying drawings; in whichseveral possible embodiments ofthe invention are illustrated,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a railway car in accordance with oneembodiment of this invention, a plurality of elognate hatch covers Ringmounted over a plurality of elongate hatch openings spacedlongitudinally along the roof of a hopper car; FIGURE 2 is a partialplan of URE 1, an intermediate hatch cover being shown in open positionpermitting access to the hatch opening;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken 'in which a removablestop is illustrated for stopping and retaining the hatch cover in itsfully open position; and.

FIGURE 7 is a plan of an additional embodiment of 1 this invention inwhich a single elongate hatch cover is .j. illustrated extendingsubstantiallythe length of the car.

Referringnow to the drawings, a hopper car generally designated C has atubular tank-shaped body B supported for the hatch cover.

the railway car of FIG- generally along line 3--3 of FIGURE 2, thebroken line :1

3,199,238 Patented June 22, 1965 adjacent each end on trucks T. Body Bcomprises a cylindrical tank shell L supported on side sills S. Shell Lacts as a longitudinal beam and eliminates the necessity of a centersill, thereby to provide a smooth clean bore interior within shell L forfacilitating the unloading and cleaning of the hopper car. It is to beunderstood that suitable bottom discharge openings (not shown) areprovided for unloading the contents of the car.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 2 and 3, the roof of the hopper car isindicated at 10. Bulkheads or transverse partitions 12 separate the carinto separate compartments and each compartment has a separate elongatehatch opening 14 through the roof of the car and arranged centrally ofthe width of the car. Surrounding the hatch openings 14 and mounted onroof 10 is a horizontal platform 16 forming a running board for the car.Platform 16 has a rectangular opening 18-extending longitudinally alongthe roof of the 'car to permit access to hatch openings 14. Supportingplatform16 are struts 20 welded to shell L at their lower ends.

' Surrounding each hatch opening 14 along its perimeter is a frame 22welded to the adjacent edge 24 of shell L which defines hatch opening14. 'Each hatch frame 22 extends upwardly from its respective opening 14and has an outturned curved upper flange 26 forming a substantiallyhorizontal seat for a hatch cover generally designated 28.Anintermediate hatch cover 28 and associated hatch' opening 14 are of alength greater than the length of end hatch covers28 and associatedhatchopenings 14. Each hatch cover 28 and associated opening 14 is elongatein shape and is substantially identical except for dimenslons.

. Each hatch cover 28 comprises a generally fiat body plate 30 having anintegral downturned circumferential flange 32. A resilient gasket 34 issecured to the underside of plate 30 and is adapted to seat in sealingrelation on flange 26 when the hatch cover is closed.' Mounted atintervals along the length of each hatch cover 28 are downwardly openingchannels 36 constituting cover supports extending transversely of thecar as well as stifieners The outer ends of channels 36 are slotted at37 (FIGURE 3). Clip angles 38 (see FIGURE 4) connect roller brackets orarms 40 to channels 36 Roller-arms 40 extend outwardly from each channel36 and downwardly from the adjacent flange 32 of hatch cover 28. H

Mounted on a roller axle 41 fixed through the extending end of eachroller arm 40 is a pair of upper rollers 42,

-struts 52 are secured at their lower ends to support angle 56. It isnoted that the upper surface of platform 16 and the upper surface ofchannels 48 are in substantially the same horizontal plane.

Aslot 58 extends longitudinally along the upper side "of box channel 48and receives roller arm 40 for back and forth movement upon the openingand closing of hatch cover 28. The dimensions of box channel 48 are suchthat the distance between the upper and lower inner surfaces aresufliciently greater than the diameter of rollers 42 and 46 to permitrollers 42 to contact the upper inner surface and rollers 46 to contactthe lower inner surface, the hatch cover 28 clearing hatch frame 22 asindicated by the intermediate broken line position of hatch cover SI 28illustrated in FIGURE 3 when rollers 42 and 46are so positioned and thecover is moved between open and closed positions. This arrangementallows hatch cover 28 to be supported by rollers 42, 46 within boxchannels 48 during movement between open and closed. positions,

channels 48 constituting guideways for thehatch cover.

A downturned fl-angetl. at the outer end of each channel 48 constitutesa stop for rollers .42 as illustrated by the outer broken line positionof hatch cover 28 in FIGURE 3,.rollers 42 abutting flange 69 in thefully opened position of-the hatch cover. Retaining hatohcover 28 in itsouter end position against stop 60'is a slot or recess 61 receivingrollers 42. Rollers 42'are, easily remouedfrom recess61 V by a slightupward tilting of the hatch cover. For re moval of hatch cover 28, an,outer end. portion of the lower side of channel 48 is cutaway asindicated at 62. Upon tilting of hatch cover 28 upwardlyrollers 42' and46 will drop out of cutaway portions 62. At the innerend of eachchannel'48, a recess-64 receives rollers 42 as illus: trated inthe-solid line position ofha-tch cover 28 in FIG-' URE 3." This permitsthe hatch cover to tilt downward to seat on hatch frame 22. Box channels48 and roller arm assemblies (for-med by roller arm'40 and rollers 42, f

46) constitute guideways and associated guides for the hatch cover.

Forsecuring hatch cover 28in closed position, hand Wheels 66 are spacedat intervals along the length of each cover 28. Each hand wheel has ahub 68 internally threaded and receiving an externally threaded swingbolt 70. The lower end of bolt 70 is bifurcated to form-yoke arms 72.Bracket 74 secured to the car fits between arms 72 and a bolt .76extending through suitable openings mounts swing bolt 70 for pivotalvswinging movement to- Ward and away from hatch coverfl28. Slot .37 in'channel 36 is adapted to receive bolt 70 in the secured position of thehatch cover with hand wheel 66drawn tight against the upper surfaceofthe'associated channel- 36;

The operation isas follows:.Beginning with thehatch cover in closedposition,'hand wheels are loosened and swing along with swing bolts 70awayfrom ithehatch cover, as indicated in brokenlines in FIGURE 3. Then,the hatch cover is lifted or tilted'slightly from the edge adjacent thehand wheelsto remove rollers 42-15mm recess'es 64. 'In this position,the. hatch cover is pushed transversely of the car 'to move rollers42,,46 along the guideways formed by box channels 48; When. stop60 isengaged by rollers 42, the hatch cover is in its fully opened position,rollers 42 being received in recesses61. To return hatch cover 28 toclosed'position, the cover istilted slightly toremove rollers 42 fromslots 61, then the cover 7 is pulled transversely of the car untilrollers 42 are received byrecesses 64 permit-ting hatch cover 28 to tiltdownward into engagement with hatch frame 22. Swing bolts 70 are nextmoved Within slots -37 and hand wheels 66 are drawn tight againstchannels 36 to secure the hatch cover. It is to be understood that thenumber of hand wheels will normally depend on the length of the cover.

roof and hatch opening for loading the car. 'Also, it is to beunderstood that two hatch covers maybeemployed Referring to FIGURE7, asingle elongate hatch cover 28A on a railway car is illustrated as anembodiment of this invention and extends substantially the length; ofthe car. Hatch cover 28A is mounted similarly to hatch covers ,28illustrated in FIGURES 1-5. It is to be under- While the hatch cover isillustrated on a hopper cantit may be employed on any desired type offreight car having a I 4 stood that any desired number of hatch coversmaybe positioned along the length of the railway car. a

- i In view of the above, it will be seen'that the several 7 objects-ofthe invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

" As various'changes could be made in the above con- "structions withoutdeparting from the scope of the .inven-.

tion, it is intended that all matter'contained in the above descriptionor shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

1. In a railway hopper car, a' roof covering the hopper car, anelongated hatch opening extending lengthwise longitudinally of. the car,a hatch frame surrounding the hatchtopening an elongate hatch cover overthe hatch opening slidable transversely of the car between open andclosed positions, said hatch cover being seated on the hatclii frame inthelclosed position and being removed from the hatch opening in the openposition to permit access. to the hatch opening, an arm secured adjacentonelfside,

of'therelongate hatch cover and extending laterally from the hatch coverover the adjacent roof transversely of the car, a guideway mounted onthe roof and extending trans-f versely of the car generally parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the arm, anti-friction means on the extendingend of the arm engaging the guideway for sliding movement back andforthtransvrselyof the. car upon openingand closing of the cover, andreleasable means tosecure the hatch cover in closed position onto thehatch frame and to release the hatch cover from the hatch frame forsliding movement transversely of the car.

2.In a railway car asset fOI IiLlII claim 1,;said guideway comprising abox-shaped channel member havi san upwardly opening slot receiving thearm for movement of therhatch cover back and forth, the anti-frictionmeans i on the extending end of the arm comprising a rollerfit-y tingwithin the box-shaped channel.

3. ha railway'hopper car, a roof covering the hopper, car, an elongatehatch opening extending lengthwise l'ongitudinally of the car, anelongate hatch cover over the hatch opening slid able. transversely ofthe car between openand closed positions, guidemeans securedto one sideof thev elongated hatch'cover extending outwardly'and downwardly fromsaid one side, a su'pport for the guide means secured to the roof andextending transversely of the oar, and rreleasa ble means to secure thehatch coverv a in closed position and to release the hatch cover forslid: ing movement along the support transversely of the car-'1 to openposition, the supportmounting the guide m eansand hatch cover for backand forth sliding movement transversely of the car;

4. In a railway hopper car as set forth in claim 3, said 5 guide meanscomprising an arm secured tothehatch cover and at least one rollermounted for rotation on the extending end of said arm, saidsupportcomprising a box-shaped channel extending transversely of the car andhaving an.

upper slot therein receiving the arm, the roller fittingwithin thechannel for rotation upon back and forth movement of the hatch coverbetween open and closed positions.

5xArailway hopper car having a roof covering. the.

hopper car, an elongate hatch opening extending length- .wiselongitudinally of the car, 'ahatch framesurroundin'g the hatch opening,an elongate hat-ch cover over the hatch opening having at least a pairof arms extending outwardly and downwardly'from one side thereof, a pairof rollers mounted on each of the arms and offsettfirom eachother,

a guideway for the rollers secured to the roof andreceiv 7 mg therollers for movement back and forthtransversely of the car, saidguideway having an upper roller suppor-t surface and a lower rollersupport surface, .one'of the rollers contacting the upper supportsurfiace and the other roller contact-ing the lower. support surface forsupporting the hatch cover when moved between open and closed position,the cover, being cantilevered from'the arms and biasing the rollers intoengagement-with the respective support surfaces upon movement betweenopened and closed positions relative to the hatch opening, andreleasable means adjacent the other opposite side of the cover to securethe cover in closed position. a V

6. The railway hopper car as defined in claim 5 wherein a stop adjacenteach end of the guideway limits the movement of the cover transverselyof the car.

7. The railway hopper car as defined in claim 5 wherein said hatch coverhas an outwardly opening slot on the side thereof opposite said oneside, the releasable means being a swing bolt pivotally mounted adjacentthe opposite side of the cover for movement between a position receivedwithin the slot and a position removed from the slot, an end of the boltprojecting from the cover when the bolt is received within the slot, andmeans on the projecting end of the bolt adapted to be drawn tightagainst the adjacent surface of the hatch cover when the bolt is withinthe slot thereby to secure the hatch cover in a closed position. a

8. The railway hopper car as defined in claim 5 wherein means aredisposed at the opened position of the hatch cover and at the closedposition of the hatch cover to retain the hatch cover in such positions,the hatch cover being removed from the opened and closed retainedpositions thereof by til-ting in a generally vertical plane extendingtransversely of the car,

9. A railway hopper car having a roof covering the hopper car, anelongate hatch opening extending lengthwise longitudinally of the carfor substantially the entire length thereof, a hatch frame surroundingthe hatch opening, an elongate hatch cover over the hatch opening andadapted to be seated on the hatch frame in a closed position, at least apair of roller arms secured to one side of the hatch cover, a pair ofrollers mounted on each of the arms and being offset from each other, agenerally box-shaped channel adjacent each arm extending transversely ofthe car and in transverse alignment with the associated arm forreceiving the rollers, each box-shaped channel-being slotted to receivethe associated arm, one of the rollers engaging the bottom of thechannel and the other roller engaging the top of the channel forsupporting the cover for back and forth movement, a stop adjacent eachend of each channel to limit the movement of the rollers and hatchcover, the channels being arranged to permit a limited pivoting movementof the hatch cover and rollers in a generally vertical plane when thehatch cover is positioned over the hatch frame at its closed positionthereby to provide a clearance between the hatch cover and hatch framewhen the hatch cover is moved to open position, and releasable means tosecure the hatch cover in closed position.

10. In a hatch cover assembly adapted to be mounted on the roof of arailway hopper'car, an elongate hatch cover having a pair of roller armssecured to one side thereof and extending outwardly from said one side,a pair of rollers mounted on each of the arms and being offset from eachother, a generally box-shaped channel adjacent each arm and in alignmentwith an associated arm for receiving the rollers therein, eachbox-shaped channel being slotted longitudinally to receive itsassociated arm, one of the rollers of each pair engaging the bottom ofthe channel and the other roller engaging the top of the channel forsupporting the cover for back and forth movement, and a stop adjacenteach end of each channel to limit the movement of the hatch cover.

11. In a railway hopper car, a roof covering the hopper car, an elongatehatch opening extending lengthwise longitudinally of the car, anelongate hatch cover over the hatch opening adapted to move transverselyof the car between open and closed positions, a guide on one side of theelongate hatch cover extending outwardly and downwardly from said oneside, a fixed guideway for the guide mounted on the roof and extendingtransversely of the car to support the guide and hatch cover for backand forth movement transversely of the car, said guide comprising an armsecured to the hatch cover and a pair of rollers on the arm ofiestvertically from each other, said guideway receiving the rollers andhaving upper and lower surfaces engaging and guiding the movement of therollers, one of the rollers engagingthe upper 7 surface and the otherroller engaging the lower surface,

the weight of the cover exerting a torque on said arm when supported bythe arm and associated rollers for a movement back and forth in theguideway, and releasable means to secure the hatch cover in closedposition and to release the hatch cover for movement transversely of thecar to open position. 7

12. In a railway hopper car, a roof covering the hopper car and havingan elongate hatch opening therein, an elongate hatch cover over thehatch opening and slidable relative to the car between open and closedpositions in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the opening, a pair of spaced generally parallel arms mounted onone side of the elongate hatch cover and extending outwardly anddownwardly from said one side, a separate support for each arm securedto the roof and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of saidelongate hatch cover, separate means carried by each arm engaging theassociated support at spaced apart positions and mounting the arms andhatch cover for sliding movement along the supports between open andclosed positions, the cover being cantilevered by said arms and movingover the supports when moved between closed and open positions, andreleasable means to secure the hatch cover in closed position and torelease the hatch cover for sliding movement along the supports to openposition,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 401,758 4/89Reade 29646 2,006,760 7/35 Francket al 50l4 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, PrimaryExaminer.

1. IN A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR, A ROOF COVERING THE HOPPER CAR, AN ELONGATEDHATCH OPENING EXTENDING LENGTHWISE LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CAR, HATCHFRAME SURRONDING THE HATCH OPENING, AN ELONGATE HATCH COVER OVER THEHATCH OPENING SLIDABLE TRANSVERSELY OF TH E CAR BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSEDPOSITIONS, SAID HATCH COVER BEING SEEATED ON THE HATCH FRAME IN THECLOSED POSITION AND BEING REMOVED FROM THE HATCH OPENING IN THE OPENPOSITION TO PERMIT ACCESS TO THE HATCH OPENING, AN ARM SECURED ADJACENTON SIDE OF THE ELONGATE HATCH COVER AND EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THEHATCH COVER OVER THE ADJACENT ROOF TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR, A GUIDEWAYMOUNTED ON THE ROOF AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR GENERALLYPARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE ARM, ANTI-FRICTION MEANS ON THEEXTENDING END OF THE ARM ENGAGING THE GUIDEWAY FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT BACKAND FORTH TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR UPON OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE COVER,AND RELEASABLE MEANS TO SECURE THE HATCH COVER IN CLOSED POSITION ONTOTHE HATCH FRAME AND TO RELEASE THE HATCH COVER FROM THE HATCH FRAME FORSLIDING MOVEMENT TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR.